All and Sundry
by words-are-my-weakness
Summary: ONESHOT; Dave/Rachel; Dave's proposition to Rachel at the christmas party when she was working in the sex crimes unit...


"He once made a very vivid proposition to me at a Christmas party when I was working in the sex crimes unit" Rachel Bailey told her friend and colleague, Janet Scott whilst standing in a graveyard in the middle of Manchester. Gill Murray, their boss, and the ex-wife of the man in question was stood only feet away from them.

"I hope you didn't" Janet asked, hoping for one particular answer; an answer she knew she wouldn't get; an answer that could only be a lie.

"I've got to admit, he was unusually..." Rachel broke off with a smile, avoiding the question. But her lack of response answered for her.

Janet shot a disappointed look at her friend standing next to her. She was bright, young and attractive; there was no question that men wouldn't be attracted to her. But Dave was married, and didn't care who knew about it. The only person who didn't know was his wife, Gill.

Rachel wasn't the best of friends with Gill; Gill saw her as incompetent at times, lazy, thoughtless, wreck-less but she had so much potential. Rachel couldn't how her boss was trying to help her; but she could clearly see, as could everyone in Gill's orbit, how hurt she was by Dave's deceit. She suddenly felt awful after realising the impact her indiscretions with Dave could have on Gill if ever she were to find out. Rachel went into a daydream of painful memories about that night, unable to hear what Janet was saying to her.

_It was a cold winter's night in the middle of December. Rachel had a low-cut knee length dress on, and even with a furry coat, she was still cold. Although she could not walk in her heels, Rachel refused to wear flats or not drink alcohol. A few hours into the party, and quite a few glasses of wine later, she had forgotten about being cold and about her shoes. _

_There wasn't a man in the room that hadn't tried to feel or chat Rachel up. The wine made her lose all sense of judgement and began to enjoy it. One of the blokes was unusually charming; 'he could charm the birds out of the trees' Rachel had thought to herself at the time. His hand slid down her back making her quiver in anticipation. This was going only one way. He lent forward and whispered sweet nothings in her ear; well he could have been whispering anything, she wouldn't have known any different, the music was loud and people tended to shout over it. _

"_Why don't you come back to mine?" Rachel offered, realising the man whose name she didn't even know, wasn't about to be so accommodating."I'll just" she shouted to the man next to her "Get my coat" she continued to shout to a silent room as the music faded out. Rachel could feel every set of eyes in the room looking at her; her cheeks burnt from the inside. The best thing, the only thing she could do was put her head down and make for the door. _

_The party was held in the basement of Oldham police station, and living in Chadderton; Rachel didn't have far to go to get home. As the pair walked in silence to the main road, 'Dave' put out his hand to beckon a taxi. _

_From Oldham to Chadderton the atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. No one spoke. In the midst of the dark night, in the deserted streets of Manchester, you could almost hear Rachel breathing. The taxi eventually pulled up outside Rachel's flat, the pair crawling across the seats and 'Dave' paying the driver. _

_Even the walk up the path to the front door was awkward. She had known this man for only five minutes, literally, and now she was going to titillate him. The key turned in the door effortlessly, despite Rachel's shaky hand. She walked into the hall and stopped, waiting for 'Dave' to come up behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, she smiled to herself; a smile he couldn't see. She turned slowly, his hand swivelling on her shoulder, not letting go. She walked closer toward him, their eyes meeting for the first time. She held his gaze. It was like the moment in Jaws before the shark found a new 'item on the menu'; she could almost hear people's gasps. This was dangerous, she didn't know this man from Adam, and she still didn't know his name. He was definitely the shark when their lips met; he took control right from the beginning. The tension built up and up until both police officers were upstairs, undressed and beyond the point of return. _

"Chief Superintendent Dave Murray" Janet waited as she watched the cogs turning in Rachel's mind.

"Is he her ex?"


End file.
